Grace, Grace, God's Grace

"And he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shouting, crying, grace, grace!"—Zachariah 4:7

The mercy of God is that attribute which we, the fallen, sinful race of Adam, stand in greatest need of, and God has been pleased, according to our needs, more gloriously to manifest this attribute than any other. The wonders of divine grace are the greatest of all wonders. The wonders of divine power and wisdom in the making of this great world are marvelous; other wonders of his justice in punishing sin are wonderful; many wonderful things have happened since the creation of the world, but none like the wonders of grace. "Grace, Grace!" is the sound that the gospel rings with, "Grace, Grace!" will be that shout which will ring in heaven forever; and perhaps what the angels sung at the birth of Christ, of God's good will towards men, is the highest theme that ever they entered upon.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Sovereign Grace

"Of all the Doctrines of the Bible, none is so
offensive to human nature as the doctrine of
GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY." — J. C. Ryle

We are sure that the gospel we have preached is not after men, because men do not take to it. It is opposed even to this day. If anything is hated bitterly, it is the out-and-out gospel of the grace of God, especially if that hateful word "SOVEREIGNTY" is mentioned with it.

Dare to say "He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and he will have compassion on whom he will have compassion" [Romans 9:15], and furious critics will revile you without stint.

The modern religionist not only hates the doctrine of sovereign grace, but he raves & rages at the mention of it. He would sooner hear you blaspheme than preach election by the Father, atonement by the Son, or regeneration by the Spirit. If you want to see a man worked up till the Satanic is clearly uppermost, let some of the new divines hear you preach a free-grace sermon. A gospel which is after men will be welcomed by men; but it needs a divine operation upon the heart and mind to make a man willing to receive into his inmost soul this distasteful gospel of the grace of God.

My dear brethren, do not try to make it tasteful to carnal minds. Hide not the offence of the cross, lest you make if of none effect. The angles and corners of the gospel are its strength: to pare them off is to deprive it of power. Toning down is not the increase of strength, but the death of it. Why, even among the sects, you must have noticed that their distinguishing points are the horns of their power; and when these are practically omitted, the sect is effete. Learn, then, that if you take Christ out of Christianity, Christianity is dead. If you remove grace out of the gospel, the gospel is gone. If the people do not like the doctrine of grace, give them all the more of it! Whenever its enemies rail at a certain kind of gun, a wise military power will provide more of such artillery. A great general, going in before his king, stumbled over his own sword. "I see," said the king, "your sword is in the way." The warrior answered, "Your majesty's enemies have often felt the same." That our gospel offends the King's enemies is no regret to us.

Excerpted from C. H. Spurgeon's sermon #2185 "Our Manifesto" MTP Vol 37, Year 1891, pg. 49, Galatians 1:11

The Church of What’s Happenin’ Now

The biggest fad of all has come with its own built-in expiration date: “Forty Days of Purpose.” The Purpose-Driven Life had sold more than twenty million copies, making it the best-selling non-fiction book of all time, surpassing The Diary of Anne Franke within a few months of its release. According to a news release I read in December, spin-off Purpose-Driven merchandize has generated nearly five million units of additional sales, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. “Forty Days of Purpose” is already the most successful evangelical fad in the history of the world, making a lot of people rich and guaranteeing that we’re going to see a lot of similar marketing plans and 40-day programs in the months to come. Rick Warren has already announced his next one: “Forty Days of Community.” It starts in April, and you can get your church on the bandwagon now. The cost for a ticket to ride this fad is tailored to fit the size of your church. If you have a church of 100 people, it will only cost you $700. Now, I’m not going to try to squeeze a critique of The Purpose Driven Life into this article. There are plenty of helpful critiques available on-line, and one by Nathan Busenitz in the book from Crossway titled Fool’s Gold?.

Even if we had no bone to pick with the content or the underlying philosophy of The Purpose Driven Life is this really the kind of book that deserves to be the best-selling evangelical work of all time? Is there anything profound or original or exceptionally brilliant about the content of this book? Is it great literature, or especially superb Bible teaching, or excellent theology made understandable in simple terms? It’s none of those things. The extraordinary success of this book stems from a very clever marketing scheme that targeted a specific market at the most opportune time. It hit the shelves at a moment when the evangelical culture was ripe for fads and stampedes.The evangelical movement is filled with people who have been trained and conditioned and encouraged to respond to every wind of doctrine. Rick Warren thinks it’s a good thing, and he compares it to surfing. You just ride wave after wave, and that, he says, is the means God uses to bring about church growth. In The Purpose Driven Church, he says this: "At Saddleback Church we’ve . . . tried to recognize the waves God was sending our way, and we’ve learned to catch them. We’ve learned to use the right equipment to ride those waves, and we’ve learned the importance of balance. We’ve also learned to get off dying waves whenever we sensed God wanted to do something new. The amazing thing is this: The more skilled we become in riding waves of growth, the more God sends!" Ah! so that’s why we have this proliferation of fads. Evangelicals have gotten so skilled at surfing the latest fashions that God just sends more and more of them. And they get bigger every time. I always think of my favorite Flip Wilson character, Reverend Leroy. Remember him? You surely remember his best-known parishioner, Geraldine Jones, whose signature catch-phrase was “The Devil made me do it.” Reverend Leroy was the esteemed pastor of “The Church of What’s Happenin’ Now.” In the ’60s, that was funny. These days it’s no joke. It seems like every church wants to be “The Church of What’s Happenin’ Now.”And that is an extremely dangerous position for the evangelical movement to be in. Today’s fad may seem benign enough if you don’t care much about biblical discernment. Rick Warren says he just wants to meet people’s “felt needs” and insists he wants to remain biblical at the same time. Where’s the harm in that? But that philosophy is wrong and unbiblical, because it’s contrary to Paul’s clear command in 2 Timothy 4, to preach the word and refuse to cater to the itch of people’s “felt needs.” Meanwhile, all these fads are moving us further from our evangelical commitment to the principles of sola fide and sola Scriptura.

Excerpt is from a message that was delivered at the 2005 Shepherd’s Conference by Phil Johnson titled "Programs, Get Your Programs:Exposing the Flaws of a Fad-Driven Church" a copy of this message can be obtained at the Shepherd's Conference official website

What is Spiritual War?

The real spiritual war is simply this: You have a whole world of people who think wrong. Their thinking is damning. They think wrong about themselves; they think wrong about God; they think wrong about Christ, if they think about Him at all. They need to think differently. They need to know the truth. They need to know the gospel. They need to know the truth about themselves, the truth about God, the truth about Christ, the truth about His work, the truth about salvation, grace, forgiveness. They need to know that truth. And it's when you bring that truth to the person and you engage in the war with their mind so that you can bring the truth to bear upon wrong thinking, that's the real spiritual war. It's an ideological battle. But the real war is bringing the truth of Christ to those in error.

Excerpt by John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 80-257, titled "The Deadly Dangers of Moralism".

Wolves in the Flock

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:28-30)

There is a growing apostasy that has now brought us to a point in alleged postmodern America where the evangelical church is facing the exact same issue as that encountered by Charles Haddon Spurgeon with the encroaching liberals in the Baptist Union of his day. Today we can see what I’ve called The New Downgrade No-Controversy developing when someone like spiritual guru Brian McLaren, a recognized leader in the decidedly anti-Reformation Emergent Church, has been able to fool weak-willed leaders within the Church of our Lord through his a-logical double-speak into accepting him as an evangelical when he in fact denies the Gospel that’s supposedly preached by evangelicals. (article)

By Rev. Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries!

More Spurgeon

I am bound to the doctrine of the depravity of the human heart, because I find myself depraved in heart, and have daily proofs that in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing. If God enters into covenant with unfallen man, man is so insignificant a creature that it must be an act of gracious condescension on the Lord's part; but if God enters into covenant with sinful man, he is then so offensive a creature that it must be, on God's part, an act of pure, free, rich, sovereign grace. When the Lord entered into covenant with me, I am sure that it was all of grace, nothing else but grace. When I remember what a den of unclean beasts and birds my heart was, and how strong was my unrenewed will, how obstinate and rebellious against the sovereignty of the Divine rule, I always feel inclined to take the very lowest room in my Father's house, and when I enter Heaven, it will be to go among the less than the least of all saints, and with the chief of sinners.

This excerpt is By C.H. Spurgeon taken from "A Defense of Calvinism" posted at www.spurgeon.org

Lost Hymns: All that I Was, My Sin, My Guilt

All that I was, my sin, my guilt, My death, was all my own; All that I am I owe to Thee, My gracious God, alone.

The evil of my former state Was mine, and only mine; The good in which I now rejoice Is Thine, and only Thine.

The darkness of my former state, The bondage, all was mine; The light of life in which I walk, The liberty, is Thine.

Thy Word first made me feel my sin, It taught me to believe; Then, in believing, peace I found, And now I live, I live!

All that I am, e'en here on earth, All that I hope to be, When Jesus comes and glory dawns, I owe it, Lord, to Thee.

by Horatius Bonar, 1808-1899 Hymn #378 The Lutheran Hymnal Text: 1 Corinthians 15:10 Author: Horatius Bonar, 1845, alt.Tune: "St. Bernard" 1st Published in: Tochter Zion, 1741Town: Cologne, Germany

'Deep Respect' for Islam?

Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday (article) that he has "deep respect" for Islam, but can a true Christian truly have respect for a pagan religion? How does one respect a teaching that damn's people to hell? The Pope also said quote "I hope that in several occasions during the visit ... my deep respect for great religions, in particular for Muslims - who worship the one God and with whom we are engaged in defending and promoting together social justice, moral values, peace and freedom for all men - has emerged clearly,". It's quite clear that the Pope doesn't worship the God of the Bible because he is confused about who God is, if he believes that the Muslims worship the one true God then he does not know who the God of the Bible is, the only thing that has truly emerged is what the Pope doesn't believe! Also notice that he did not say that the Muslims and himself were concerned with promoting the TRUTH, but with social justice, morals and peace which is something that extreme Muslims don't seek at all. True Christianity can never have "deep respect" for any false religion nor does Ture Christianity embrace a view of God that contradict's the God of the Bible. Some would say that this view is unloving but the truth is that nothing is more loving than the truth! Jesus is truth.

Spurgeon Gem / The Word Of God

Never, never neglect the Word of God. The Word will make your heart rich with truth, rich with understanding, and then your conversation, when it flows from your mouth, will be like your heart: rich, soothing, and sweet. Make your heart full of rich, generous love, and then the stream that flows from your hand will be just as rich and generous as your heart. Above all, get Jesus to live in your heart, and then out of your heart will flow rivers of living water, more rich, more satisfying than the water of the well of Sychar of which Jacob drank. Oh! Go, Christian, to the great mine of riches, and cry to the Holy Spirit to make your heart rich unto salvation. Then your life and conversations will be a benefit to your fellow man; and when they see you, your face will be like an angel of God. Wise men will stand up when they see you, and men will give you respect and honor.

By: Charles Hadden Spurgeon 1834-1892

My Idea of God?

If my idea of God were really mine, if it were one which I had evolved out of my own inner consciousness, I should attribute very little importance to it myself, and should certainly expect even less importance to be attributed to it by others. If God is merely a fact of human experience, if theology is merely a branch of psychology, then I for my part shall cease to be interested in the subject at all. The only God about whom I can feel concerned is one who has objective existence, an existence independent of man. But if there be such a really and independently existent Being, it seems extremely unlikely that there can be any knowledge of Him unless He chooses to reveal Himself: a divine Being that could be discovered apart from revelation would be either a mere name for an aspect of man's nature – the feeling of reverence or loyalty or the like – or else, if possessing objective existence, a mere passive thing that would submit to human investigation like the substances that are analyzed in the laboratory. And in either case it would seem absurd to apply to such a Being the name of "God."

By: J. Gresham Machen "My Idea of God", published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1927

An Almost Christian

by George Whitefield (1714-1769)
Acts 26:28 - "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
An almost Christian, if we consider him in respect to his duty to God, is one that halts between two opinions; that wavers between Christ and the world; that would reconcile God and Mammon, light and darkness, Christ and Belial. It is true, he has an inclination to religion, but then he is very cautious how he goes too far in it: his false heart is always crying out, Spare thyself, do thyself no harm. He prays indeed, that "God's will may be done on earth, as it is in heaven." But notwithstanding, he is very partial in his obedience, and fondly hopes that God will not be extreme to mark every thing that he willfully does amiss; though an inspired apostle has told him, that "he who offends in one point is guilty of all." But chiefly, he is one that depends much on outward ordinances, and on that account looks upon himself as righteous, and despises others; though at the same time he is as great a stranger to the divine life as any other person whatsoever. In short, he is fond of the form, but never experiences the power of godliness in his heart. He goes on year after year, attending on the means of grace, but then, like Pharaoh's lean kine [cow?], he is never the better, but rather the worse for them.

If you consider him in respect to his neighbor, he is one that is strictly just to all; but then this does not proceed from any love to God or regard to man, but only through a principle of self-love: because he knows dishonesty will spoil his reputation, and consequently hinder his thriving in the world.

He is one that depends much upon being negatively good, and contents himself with the consciousness of having done no one any harm; though he reads in the gospel, that "the unprofitable servant was cast into outer darkness," and the barren fig-tree was cursed and dried up from the roots, not for bearing bad, but no fruit.

He is no enemy to charitable contributions in public, if not too frequently recommended: but then he is unacquainted with the kind offices of visiting the sick and imprisoned, clothing the naked, and relieving the hungry in a private manner. He thinks that these things belong only to the clergy, though his own false heart tells him, that nothing but pride keeps him from exercising these acts of humility; and that Jesus Christ, in the 25th chapter of St. Matthew, condemns persons to everlasting punishment, not merely for being fornicators, drunkards, or extortioners, but for neglecting these charitable offices, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, he shall set the sheep on his right-hand, and the goats on his left. And then shall he say unto them on his left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also say, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or a-thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have not done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not unto me: and these shall go away into everlasting punishment unto me: and these shall go away into everlasting punishment." I thought proper to give you this whole passage of scripture at large, because our Savior lays such a particular stress upon it; and yet it is so little regarded, that were we to judge by the practice of Christians, one should be tempted to think there were no such verses in the Bible.

"Evil & Inhuman" Acts

In an amazing display of utter hypocrisy leaders in the Islamic world are demanding an apology from Pope Benedict XVI. What did the Pontiff do? He dared read a quotation from a conversation that took place in the fourteenth century. And what was the horridly offensive statement? He quoted, not as his own words, but accurately, the words of Emperor Manuel Paleologos II speaking to a Persian scholar on the conflict between Christianity and Islam. The words were, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." That's it! He dared quote such a statement! It was in the context of eschewing violence in matters of religion, I might add.

Now, consider the response to this simple citation of a historical source: Pakistan's legislature unanimously condemned the Pope. (I wonder if a single one of them had a clue what he said, or the context in which it was said? Probably not). According to Yahoo news, the deputy leader of the ruling Islamic party, "said Benedict's remarks were either 'the result of pitiful ignorance' about Islam and its prophet or, worse, a deliberate distortion." He said, "He has a dark mentality that comes from the darkness of the Middle Ages. He is a poor thing that has not benefited from the spirit of reform in the Christian world. It looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades. Benedict, the author of such unfortunate and insolent remarks, is going down in history for his words. He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini." Protests broke out in Gaza City, and a Hamas spokesman said the Pope had offended Muslims everywhere.

Now, of course, every single one of these people know that in Islamic countries Imams regularly preach death to the West and death to Christianity. They well know the hatred expressed toward Jews on a daily basis. So it simply is not possible for them to not realize the gross hypocrisy in pretending outrage over the Pope quoting a conversation that took place hundreds of years ago. The few who have even read the comments and noted the context are guilty of knowing hypocrisy. But they are the minority. You can bet without question that the vast majority of these folks have only heard either a completely a-contextual version, like, "The Pope said Mohammad (pbuh!) was evil and inhuman! Take up arms!" or worse, as in the "cartoon" saga a few months ago, they have been given a full-blown lie and some other outrageous "quotation." Now, I do not want anyone to faint upon reading what I am about to say, but for the sake of all that is good and right and just, I hope Benedict XVI refuses to apologize. Clarify the statement? Fine. Provide the context? Great. But do not apologize for claiming the freedom to quote a historical source! I could quote dozens and dozens of Islamic writers whose words I find deeply offensive. Would I be given the right to demand apologies from the entire Islamic world? Surely not!

Finally, one of the most amazing statements in the above linked news article was this one: "Many Muslims accused Benedict of seeking to promote Judeo-Christian dominance over Islam." Anyone with the slightest idea of what militant Islam is all about knows it seeks the establishment of Islamic law throughout the world. That is what the current world situation is all about: the consistent application of Islamic beliefs to the political systems of all nations. See the writings of Sayyid Qutb, who greatly influenced Bin Laden, for examples of this on almost every page. So when I read this kind of complaint, my hypocrisy meter pegs and starts smoking. But will almost anyone in the West point out this hypocrisy? No, because our ability to think, and speak, clearly has been seriously compromised by political correctness. Yes, Islam seeks world domination, by force and death and destruction. And therein lies another major difference between us: Christianity boldly proclaims that it, in fact, will someday see Jesus Christ enthroned as the King of kings, and He will rule over all the earth. But how does He rule and reign today? He does so by changing hearts and minds, not through the barrel of an AK-47. Those who bow the knee to Christ today to do because their natures have been changed. It is a supernatural conversion, not a violent one.

Article by James R. White of Alpha & Omega Ministries

God's Completing Work

A Precious Promise of God's Completing Work Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6) Now, we return to the category we are calling "precious promises." (2 Peter 1:4). Here we have a priceless one concerning God's commitment to complete the wonderful work of salvation that He began at our new birth. If our faith is in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God has started a tremendous saving work on our behalf: " He who has begun a good work in you." He has made us new creatures in His Son. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). He has supplied us with immeasurable heavenly resources. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). What a grand work has been started in us. Yet, God's saving work is "so great a salvation" (Hebrews 2:3). Thus, whatever He has already been accomplished with us is only a part of the whole. Wherever we are in this glorious process, there is some completing work that God desires to do. He wants to bring into our understanding, our character, and our daily experience more of that which is fully ours in Christ. Furthermore, our God wants us to be confident concerning this matter: "Being confident of this very thing." As noted in our previous meditation, God does not want people living in self-confidence. That misplaced trust is just another form of pride. This does not mean that we Christians are to be without confidence in our lives. It does mean that all of our confidence is to be placed in the Lord. "And we have such trust [confidence] through Christ toward God" (2 Corinthians 3:4). Our Lord wants us to have strong assurance in Him that He will complete this work in us. Also remember, this saving work of God is done within our lives: "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it." The Lord has established an eternal position for us with Him in heavenly places: "and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). Yet, He wants to effect a godly walk for us here on earth. "Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called" (Ephesians 4:1). This walk is not based upon human theories of behavior modification. Our Lord Himself develops this in and through our hearts. "Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight" (Hebrews 13:20-21). By Bob Hoekstra of Living In Christ Ministries

Dear Lord, I long to walk in more of the reality of that which is mine in Christ. Thank You for these words that build my confidence in You. I humbly repent of my self-confident attempts to do what only You can do. I look to You anew and alone!

Worldly Virus'

"As Christian believers, we must stand together against some things. So, if you hear anyone saying that A.W. Tozer preaches a good deal that is negative, just smile and agree: "That is because he preaches the Bible!" Here are some of the things we oppose: we are against the many modern idols that have been allowed to creep into the churches; we are against the "unauthorized fire" that is being offered on the altars of the Lord; we are against the modern gods that are being adopted in our sanctuaries. We are against the world's ways and its false values. We are against the world's follies and its vain pleasures. We are against this world's greed and sinful ambitions. We are against this world's vices and its carnal habits. We believe this spells out clearly the Bible truth of separation. God asks us to stand boldly against anything or anyone who hurts or hinders this New Testament body of Christians. Where the church is not healed it will wither. The Word of God is the antibiotic that alone can destroy the virus that would plague the life of the church!" —A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

Excerpt taken from The Tozer Devotional Renewed Day by Day

Believer Sensitive!

As a believer in Christ for over 17 years now I have been offended in the world time and time again for my beliefs, and I try my best to take it all in stride without complaint, but now it seems that we as a church are being asked kindly to step aside and make way for the 'Seeker-Friendly Movement' which has spread across our country like wild-fire, they say "It's a new way of doing church!" Well what's wrong with "The Old way of doing church?" What does a 'Seeker-Focused Worship' actually mean? Just on the surface it seems like a rock-concert followed by a comedian. I mean what was wrong with the 'Sinner-Focused Worship?' What's wrong with preaching the Word of God so that the unrepentant sinner will be convicted? I mean aren't Seekers really just lost Sinners? I mean aren't they lost and headed to hell, un-regenerated people who don't know Christ? How bout we just stick with the 'Believer-Sensitive' approach to worship or as they call it "Seeker Insensitive Worship"? Why in the world would we want to alter our worship of God so that unbelievers won't be offended is an outrage, that exalts the 'Seeker' above God. Isn't the Lord’s Day for the ingathering of believers, first and foremost, the exaltation of the Lord and secondly for the edification of the believer? Those who don't know God are gathering on the Lord's Day with the Son's of God, and shouldn't we be about our Fathers business so that they may see our good works and glorify God? Let us not soften the Gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation. For I was once lost, but now I am found, and it didn't happen in a 'Seeker-Friendly Worship' it happened in a God fearing, God centered worship, with the Word of God being proclaimed with boldness and without compromise! It's high time that the true Church get back to the 'Believer-Sensitive Worship', the 'Believer-Focused Worship' and become more 'Believer-Friendly' because the World is not 'Believer-Friendly' and the Church is our only refuge.